Airstrikes kill ISIS militants as revenge by Jordanians after pilot's death

Amman was “more determined than ever to fight the terrorist group Daesh.” And a government spokesman said Jordan would step up its role in the U.S.-led fight against the militant group.

King Abdullah cut short a visit to Washington, returning to his country where he held emergency talks with his military.

Planes belonging to the Jordanian Royal Air Force fly over the headquarters of the family clan of pilot Muath al-Kasaesbeh in the city of Karak Feb. 4, 2015. (Reuters)
Jordanian fighter jets flew over the hometown of a pilot killed by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group and the capital Amman on Thursday after completing a mission, state television said without giving the location of their sortie, Reuters reported.
However, Iraqi media said that the Jordanian airstrikes have killed 55 ISIS militants including a senior commander known as the “Prince of Nineveh.”
Jordan’s ‘severe’ response to ISIS after it killed an air force pilot by burning him alive, came just hours after King Abdullah vowed to avenge Maaz al-Kassasbeh’s death.
"The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," Said King Abdullah in a statement released by the royal court on Wednesday.
Jordan had previously been divided on its participation in airstrikes against ISIS, with many question why the country was involving itself in the fight.
But it was a divide that largely vanished after the revelation of Kassasbeh’s brutal execution.
Jordan’s information minister, Mohammad al-Momani told AFP: Amman was “more determined than ever to fight the terrorist group Daesh.” And a government spokesman said Jordan would step up its role in the U.S.-led fight against the militant group.
King Abdullah cut short a visit to Washington, returning to his country where he held emergency talks with his military.
But before his return to the Middle East he met with President Barack Obama, who slammed the pilot’s killing as an act of "cowardice and depravity," and he offered the king “his deepest condolences” White House spokesman, Alistair Baskey said.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said radical Islam’s “cruelty knows no borders, the greatest threat to humanity would be if these extremists get their hands on nuclear weapons," referring to Iran's nuclear program.
The airstrikes came just hours after Jordan executed two militant prisoners in response to the killing of Kassasbeh.

But the pilot’s father told Reuters the two executions were not enough to avenge his son’s death, adding: "I want the state to get revenge for my son's blood through more executions of those people who follow this criminal group that shares nothing with Islam." Safi al-Kassasbeh told Reuters.

 

Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) greeting Safi, the father of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh. Main photo, a Jordanian jet returns from bombing Isis targets. Photo / AFP, AP

The military said "dozens of jet fighters" struck Isis targets overnight, "hitting training camps of the terrorist groups as well as weapons and ammunition warehouses."
It did not say where the targets were located -- Isis holds swathes of Syria and Iraq -- but said they were destroyed and the aircraft returned to base safely.

Jordan's military pledged to "destroy this terrorist group and kill the evil in its own place", saying it would punish Isis "for the heinous act" of burning the pilot alive.
Personifying the nation's grief and deep anger over the horrifying murder, Abdullah visited the airman's family, which has urged the government to "destroy" the jihadists, to pay his condolences.

An image grab taken from the Jordanian TV on February 5, 2015 shows flames erupting from a building hit by an airstrike against Islamic State. Photo / AFP

 

Jordan has conducted regular raids against Isis across the border in Syria as part of a US-led campaign against the Sunni extremist group.
More than 200,000 people have died since anti-government protests erupted in Syria in early 2011, escalating into a multi-sided civil war that brought jihadists streaming into the country.

Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, a brother of slain Jordanians pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, reacts to people gathering to show their support for the government against Isis. Photo / AP

At least 66 people, including 12 children, were killed by regime air strikes and shelling on rebel areas around Damascus Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The assault on the Eastern Ghouta region came after rebels fired more than 100 rockets at the city, killing 10 people including a child, the Britain-based group said.

 

The gruesome murder of Maaz al-Kassasbeh, captured by Isis in December after his F-16 crashed in Syria, has increased support in Jordan for stepped-up military action against the jihadists.
"Jordan will wage all-out war to protect our principles and values," government newspaper Al-Rai wrote in an editorial. "We are on the lookout for this band of criminals."
The execution has sparked outrage in Jordan and protests in Amman and Karak, bastion of Kassasbeh's influential tribe.
Solidarity demonstrations with the family are planned for nationwide after Friday's weekly Muslim prayers.
Abdullah cut short a US visit and returned to Amman after the video of Kassasbeh's killing emerged.

A Jordanian Air Force fighter jet flies over the village of Ai as Jordanian King Abdullah II visits to offer his condolences to the tribe of the slain Jordanian pilot. Photo / AP

"The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," he said afterwards.
On Wednesday, in response, Jordan executed two Iraqis on death row -- female would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi and Al-Qaeda operative Ziad al-Karboli.
Abdullah travelled Thursday 120 kilometres south of Amman to Karak, where a traditional mourning tent was set up for Kassasbeh's family to receive guests.
Hundreds of people, including representatives of the military and civilians, gathered as the king, wearing a red and white checked keffiyeh, sat next to the 26-year-old first lieutenant's father.

Jan. 27, 2015 file photo, the mother of Jordanian pilot Lt. Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh holds a picture of her son. Photo / AP

- 'Infidels and terrorists' -

Safi al-Kassasbeh branded Isis "infidels and terrorists who know no humanity or human rights", and said the "international community must destroy" the group.
Isis had offered to spare Kassasbeh's life and free Japanese journalist Kenji Goto -- who was later beheaded -- in exchange for Rishawi's release.
Rishawi, 44, was sentenced to death for her role in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people.
She was closely linked to Isis' predecessor organisation in Iraq, and was seen as an important symbol for the jihadists.
Jordanian television suggested Kassasbeh was killed on January 3, before IS offered to spare him and free Goto in return for Rishawi's release.
Following the airman's capture, another member of the US-led coalition, the United Arab Emirates, withdrew from air strike missions over fears for the safety of its pilots, a US official said.
"I can confirm that UAE suspended air strikes shortly after the Jordanian pilot's plane went down," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, but stressed the UAE's continuing "important and valuable" role in the coalition.
US President Barack Obama, who had hosted Abdullah in a hastily organised meeting before his return to Jordan, decried the "cowardice and depravity" of Isis.
Benjamin Netanyahu also extended his condolences to the king in a phone call on Thursday, the Israeli premier's office said.
Isis had previously beheaded two US journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers in similar videos. It has also killed a second Japanese hostage.